Tag Archives: pre-draft

Real Talk on Pre-Draft Marketing

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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One thing I’ll admit I don’t know about the pre-draft process is the marketing side of things. With that in mind, I asked a friend in the business (who asked to remain anonymous) to give me a few pointers on the business for the benefit of draft prospects and new agents.

Today, he’ll discuss the pre-draft process solely. The following is what he provided:

Over the last 10-15 years, the NFL has seen an explosion in the marketability of its athletes. For many incoming rookies, especially at the skills positions (QB, RB and WR), marketing money can heavily subsidize or even supersede a rookie’s base salary. However, for many players coming into the league thinking they will make substantial money off the field, their rookie season can be a shocking reality check. Players are faced with many complex decisions and need to remember a few key things when considering how to capitalize on marketing opportunities.

Here are a few tips.

  • Choose the right marketing representative and choose one early: Marketing is primarily about relationships, and you want a marketing rep who has experience — a lot of relationships — and time to foster and grow your potential marketing relationships. For marketable players, many can make money immediately following the expiration of their college eligibility, and in some cases, that money will go away if not earned quickly. Once drafted, every NFL player is forced to sign a general licensing agreement (GLA) with the NFL Players Association that essentially signs over the player’s marketing/licensing rights to the NFLPA. A good marketing rep will know when a player should sign the GLA and which marketing opportunities to take advantage of prior to signing the GLA.
  • Consider hiring a marketing agent: The job of a marketing agent and a contract advisor are two very different ones. Contract advisors are used to dealing with teams, a situation in which decision-makers are well known, player contracts are a business necessity, contract details are public information, and there is a salary cap structure, including salary minimums in place. Because this is a rather involved situation, many contract advisors are simply not equipped with the experience or time available to devote to marketing. The marketing business is different. There, decision-makers are hard to locate, contract details are protected by non-disclosure agreements (and are not public information), player market value is extremely subjective (no salary structures or minimums), and athlete endorsements are definitely not a business necessity. Many of the most marketable players in the NFL keep their agent work and marketing separate for this reason.
  • Don’t get tied down: There are a couple situations that can complicate your career if you’re not careful. In some cases, agents or agencies will try to entice players by using marketing advances, which can be tied to money reimbursement or binding contracts that are difficult to escape and which can be harmful to players. Also, at times, agencies will leverage the marketability of their best players to enhance the marketing value of others, damaging the value of their best players. It is very important that when deciding on a marketing rep, you make sure your rep is dedicated to maximizing your marketing potential.
  • Get informed: It’s also important to educate yourself on realistic marketing opportunities. Skill-position players are going to make the most money off the field as rookies, primarily on trading card and memorabilia deals, while non-skills position players are going to have to be proactive and patient. For some players, trading card and memorabilia money will be the only marketing opportunities they have as a rookie, and can be quite lucrative. One of the most important things a rookie can do to maximize the money he makes off the field is to sign your trading cards and return them on time. In addition to trading card and memorabilia deals, there will be a few opportunities for certain players to initiate partnerships with shoe companies, NFL sponsors, team sponsors and other regional companies.

 

For Your Consideration: ’16 Draft Edition

10 Thursday Dec 2015

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Last season around the end of this month, we featured a handful of players that were as yet unsigned with agents and, we thought, promising. Two of the four in that article landed with NFL teams the following spring and had extended runs, and both remain on rosters.

The first post was so well-received that we trotted out another batch the following week. One of them made it to a camp and another to a prominent all-star game. In all, we worked with 10 players and six got into camp, at the least. Though none are necessarily slated for a Pro Bowl, making a 90-man roster is no small achievement for these young men and something they should be proud of.

This year, we’ve decided to go off script a bit (yes, we still owe you a WSW for this week, sorry) and post a handful of deserving players a little earlier, hoping it gets them the attention from agents that they seek. We’re all about putting good, deserving players with good contract advisors whenever possible.

As always, there’s this disclaimer: the following players are certainly no lock to be drafted, nor to make a camp. Still, we think they certainly bear consideration and feel that though they aren’t without flaws, they are certainly on scouts’ radars, or will be soon. They are presented in alphabetical order.

Brian Berzanski, OT, Central Missouri: Brian’s not getting a lot of pub, and that’s a little puzzling given that he’s essentially a four-year starter at a super-glam position, left tackle. He probably lacks classic height for the position, and there’s no denying he comes from a small school, but as one scout once told me, when it comes to offensive linemen, they almost have to prove they can’t play. There’s a true scarcity when it comes to players that are around 6-5 and 300-plus. They’re not so sexy, but who cares? They tend to play a long time.

Ryan Burbrink, WO/KR, Bowling Green: Look, Ryan isn’t big (5-8, 183), he didn’t put up eye-popping numbers his senior year, and slot guys aren’t sexy. And Ryan’s got ‘slot guy’ written all over him, but hey, what’s wrong if he develops into the next Amendola, Welker or Edelman? What’s even better is that he returns punts. When you’re talking about players that are going to fight to make a roster (even a 90), they better have special teams encoded in their DNA. That won’t be a problem with Burbrink. And if you’re asking, why didn’t he get 1,000 yards receiving or 100 catches, understand that Bowling Green had a four-deep receiving corps that would be the envy of most BCS schools.

James Harris, QB, California (PA): Harris is interesting because he has an FBS background, only not in football but in baseball. His athleticism is not in doubt, and he’s just tall enough to check all the boxes, though he’s off the radar because he’s a little on the old side and, of course, did all of his damage on the D2 level. Still, he’s got lots of upside and teams are always looking for quarterbacks. He’s also in the running for a postseason all-star game, which could give him a chance to impress NFL teams.

If any of these players interest you, and you’re an ITL client, let us know. We’re happy to pass along contact info so you can begin a dialogue.